VTechWorks Repository :: Browsing by Author "Harrison, David W."

Browsing by Author "Harrison, David W."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 114

Acoustic Startle Response in High and Low Hostiles Before And After A Cold Pressor Task
Klineburger, Philip C. (Virginia Tech, 2011-04-02)
High-hostiles exhibit exaggerated physiological responses to stressors as seen by increased cardiovascular reactivity (BP & HR) (Rhodes, Harrison, & Demaree, 2002; Demaree & Harrison, 1997). This exaggerated physiological response style is associated with cardiovascular disease and premature death (Everson et al., 1997). This experiment hypothesized that diminished regulatory control would also be evident in the Acoustic Startle Response (ASR). In this experiment, high- and low-hostile undergraduate men (N = 40) were exposed to a series of startle probes before and after a cold pressor (CP). Startle responses were measured using electromyography (EMG) recorded over the orbicularis occuli. Cardiovascular measures of blood pressure and heart rate were also taken. A 2 X 2 mixed factorial ANOVA was performed with Group (high and low hostile) as the fixed factor, Condition (pre and post CP) as the repeated measure, and peak magnitude EMG (mV) of startle responses as the dependent variable. For startle responses, significant main effects for Group and Condition indicated that high hostiles had larger startle responses than low hostiles and startle responses decreased after the cold pressor (CP). A significant Group X Condition interaction effect was found. Post-hoc analyses revealed no significant group differences before the CP. After the CP, high-hostiles had significantly higher startle responses than-low hostiles. High-hostiles' startle responses did not change significantly after the CP, whereas low-hostiles' startle response magnitude decreased significantly after the CP. Low-hostiles HR increased significantly after the cold pressor and both groups SBP decreased significantly after the cold pressor.
Acquired German Accent: A Functional Neural Systems Approach to Foreign Accent Syndrome
Harrison, Patti Kelly; Klineburger, Philip C.; Campbell, Ransom W.; Harrison, David W. (2016-01-27)
First described by French neurologist Pierre Marie in 1907, foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a rare speech disorder in which individuals take on, what is perceived by observers, to be a distinct accent differing in many respects from the individual’s native accent. FAS has been of great interest in the neuropsychological literature because its unique features have challenged our understanding of the neural systems underlying the production of speech, shedding light on neural structures that had previously not been regarded as integral to speech production. In the approximately 60 reported cases of FAS, nearly all have involved a stroke or traumatic brain injury resulting in relatively small lesions (in comparison with one resulting in expressive aphasia) of the language dominant hemisphere in the prerolandic motor cortex, insular cortex, the frontal motor association cortex, and/or the striatum of the language dominant hemisphere (Blumstein & Kurowski, 2006). Several FAS cases with neuroimaging data have also shown lesions of the frontoparietal regions, right hemisphere, basal ganglia, and the right cerebellum (Marien, Verhoeven, Engelborghs, Rooker, Pickut, & De Deyn, 2006).
Adult Cancer Survivorship: An Evaluation of Survivorship Care Planning and Follow-Up
Kelleher, Sarah A. (Virginia Tech, 2014-05-05)
Over 1 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer in a given year and currently there are approximately 12 million cancer survivors in the United States. With improved detection strategies and medical advances, the number of cancer survivors continues to rise, making survivorship care an increasingly important phase along the continuum of cancer care. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the emerging field of survivorship care, including care planning and follow-up, in survivors of different types of cancer. We quantitatively evaluated the post-treatment care received by 123 cancer survivors, including the use of survivorship care plans and the impact of these care plans and subsequent follow-up on a variety of behavioral health outcomes. We qualitatively assessed survivorship care providers' (n = 8) perspectives on comprehensive survivorship care and experiences delivering post-treatment services. The majority of participants (54%) are receiving a moderate level of survivorship care, including minimal receipt of a written care plan (31%) and some amount of referrals for mental health, diet, and physical activity (28%). Results suggest significantly lower general psychological distress (F [1, 104] = 8.316, p = .005) and higher coping self-efficacy (F [1, 104] = 6.627, p = .011) for those who received some form of written care plan versus those who did not. These results imply that written care plan documents have the potential to lead to higher psychosocial functioning for survivors of cancer. The qualitative data provide initial evidence supporting the value of SCPs for patients and providers. Critical barriers to implementation of comprehensive survivorship care and SCPs, from the providers' perspective, include the fragmented healthcare system and resources. The current study is an important step toward increasing knowledge of and potential intervention targets to improve cancer survivorship experiences – from both the patients' and providers' perspectives. Future directions include developing a standardized system for delivering survivorship care and SCPs, and increasing the evidence base to examine the impact of SCPs on short- and long-term patient-reported and clinical outcomes, increase the focus on patient-centered care, and explore the impact of SCPs delivered to vulnerable groups of survivors.
Affect Intensity and Perceptions of Arousal in a Subclinical Level of Psychopathy Termed Aberrant Self-Promotion
Cyterski, Trina Doran (Virginia Tech, 1999-04-07)
The purpose of this study was to answer questions about affect intensity and self-perceived arousal differences in aberrant self-promoters (ASPs) and in individuals high and low in affect intensity (AI). Participants in the study completed a task asking them to respond as quickly and accurately as possible to letter strings presented for 200ms on a computer screen. They completed the task once with letter strings that formed words with an emotional valance and a second time with neutral-valence words. After each task, participants made self-reports of Energy and Tense dimensions of arousal as measured by the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Checklist. As first formulated, the study examined 4 groups of n̲ = 30 (ASPs, non-ASP controls, high-AIs, and low-AIs). Results showed that, as hypothesized, ASPs scored significantly lower than high-AIs on the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM). Other hypotheses were not supported by analyses of the original four groups. However, because about 1/3 of the ASPs exhibited high AIM scores, ASPs were divided into primary and secondary types: (a) those who scored low and (b) those who scored high on the AIM. Subsequent post hoc analyses, based on the hypotheses that had not been supported initially, were conducted on five groups of n̲ = 7. The study found that low-AI ASPs reported significantly lower arousability levels than high-AIs. Results also showed that controls, high-AIs, and low-AIs all reacted significantly more slowly to emotional words than to neutral words. Low-AI ASPs failed to demonstrate this response-time slowing, indicating that, like psychopaths, ASPs may process positive, negative, and neutral stimuli similarly. Additional results indicated that low-AI ASPs decreased both energetic and tension arousal levels after the emotional word task, compared to the neutral word task, whereas high-AIs reported corresponding increases in these types of arousal. These findings support Larsen and Diener's (1987) theory regarding arousal differences in high- and low-AIs. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of a weak Behavioral Inhibition System (Gray, 1987).
Analysis of Quantitative Electroencephalographic and Cardiovascular Responses to Stress Amoung Low- and High-Hostiles
Demaree, Heath Allan (Virginia Tech, 1997-04-16)
This experiment was primarily designed to identify higher cortical correlates of cardiovascular arousal. Low- and high-hostile, right-handed, undergraduate men were identified using the Cook Medley Hostility Scale (CMHS). All participants (N = 30) completed the cold pressor paradigm. Cardiovascular (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure) and electroencephalographic (beta magnitude) data were collected before and after the stressor. As predicted, high-hostiles showed greater increases of heart rate and systolic blood pressure to the stressor relative to low-hostiles. The primary findings of this research include significantly greater beta magnitude recorded by the T3, relative to F7, electrode among low-hostiles. This may suggest that low-hostiles experience left-frontal disinhibition of left-temporal regions, thereby strengthening cardiovascular regulation during the cold-pressor stress. In addition, irrespective of condition, high-hostiles evidenced significantly greater beta magnitude at regions corresponding to the F7 and F8 electrodes. This perhaps suggests that high-hostiles have a relative inability to increase their rostral modulation of posterior systems related to cardiovascular activity/regulation. Low- and high-hostiles did not, however, evidence reliable differences in their ability to monitor cardiovascular arousal to the cold-pressor stress. Findings are discussed in terms of a systems approach, and pertinent future research is recommended. This research did not support the prominent neuropsychological theories of cardiovascular regulation proposed by Heilman et al. (1993) and Tucker and Williamson (1984). Rather, the results may suggest that right- and left-cerebral mechanisms may be primarily responsible for sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiovascular arousal, respectively.
Anger and denial as predictors of cardiovascular reactivity in women
Emerson, Carol S. (Virginia Tech, 1989-12-05)
Behavioral and physiological reactivity, and its relationship to cardiovascular disease has been studied in men for a number of years, and the expression of anger has been identified as a possible contributing factor. Few studies, however, have focused specifically on the reactivity of women, and those which have suggest that women are less reactive to laboratory tasks than men. For the present study, 45 undergraduate women, ages 19-21 were selected from a larger sample of 135 women to represent three discrete groups: (1) low anger/low denial, (2) high anger/low denial, and (3) low anger/high denial, based on their scores on the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, P and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. It was hypothesized that the three groups would show reliable differences in heart rate and blood pressure during presentation of a stressful laboratory stimulus, the Stroop Color and Word Test. Each subject received three counterbalanced conditions: (1) no feedback, (2) error feedback without observer present, (3) error feedback with observer present. As hypothesized, women who reported a high level of denial and a low level of anger exhibited reliably greater systolic blood pressure to the no-feedback condition than subjects who reported low levels of denial and anger. The hypothesis that all groups would display greater A reactivity in a condition which provided error feedback with observation was not supported.
Anger Expression, Harassment, and Evaluation: Cardiovascular Reactivity and Recovery to Mental Stress
Vella, Elizabeth Jane (Virginia Tech, 2005-05-10)
Anger and hostility have been attributed as early risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, many inconsistencies exist in the literature linking both of these constructs to CHD, as well as to cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stressors likely to give rise to CHD. A potential moderating influence discussed in the CVR literature concerns the issue of anger provocation, whereas assessment of the ability to evaluate the source of provocation may moderate the recovery process. The current study adopts a multivariate approach to assess the interactive effects of dispositional anger in predicting the CVR and recovery to mental arithmetic (MA) stress with and without harassment in 47 male undergraduate psychology students. Results revealed anger out (AO) to be associated with high vagal and low frequency power suppression in response to the MA task with harassment. Exposure to experimenter evaluation was associated with attenuated diastolic blood pressure recovery and facilitated vagal recovery in high AO subjects, whereas the opposite pattern was apparent for low AO subjects. The general findings suggest that trait anger interacts with situational influences to predict CVR and recovery to stressors.
Attributions of Negative Intent and Responsibility and Anger Arousal of Abusive and Nonabusive Males to Perceived Negative Dating Partner Behavior
Moore, Todd M. Jr. (Virginia Tech, 1998-04-07)
Research on marital abuse indicates that abusive husbands attribute greater negative intent and responsibility to their partner's behavior and report greater anger arousal during conflictual situations with their partner than do nonabusive husbands (Dutton & Browning, 1988; Holtzworth-Munroe & Hutchinson, 1993). Research also shows that measures of anger arousal (e.g., blood pressure and heart rate) are significantly greater during situations of provocation or threat than neutral or nonprovocative situations (Smith & Allred, 1989). However, research has not attempted to measure abusive and nonabusive males' anger arousal and cognitive attributions to provocative and nonprovocative partner behavior in conflictual situations. Two studies examined attributional responses and one study examined anger arousal in high and low abusive dating males to highly provocative (e.g., girlfriend is flirting with another man) or minimally provocative (e.g., girlfriend wants to talk) partner behavior. A major hypothesis was that abusive males would attribute greater negative intent and responsibility as well as evidence greater blood pressure and heart rate reactivity to their partner's behavior in provocative but not in nonprovocative situations than would nonabusive males. In Study 1, six hypothetical vignettes (4 provocative and 2 nonprovocative) of dating situations were developed or modified from existing research (Holtzworth-Munroe & Hutchinson, 1993). Provocativeness of the situations was determined through pilot testing which showed that "provocative partner behavior"; yielded significantly greater attributions of negative intent and responsibility than did nonprovocative partner behavior. Undergraduate males (N = 106) were assessed for their levels of abusive relationship behaviors with the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus 1979), for their tendencies to abuse with the Propensity for Abuse Scale (PAS; Dutton, 1995b), and for their expression of anger with the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI; Spielberger, Johnson, Russell, Crane, Jacobs, & Worden, 1985). Participants then listened to audio-taped situations and completed negative intent and responsibility attribution questionnaires. Results indicated that high CTS, PAS, and STAXI males attributed greater responsibility and blame to partner behavior in provocative scenes, but not in nonprovocative scenes than did low CTS, PAS, and STAXI males (p < .05). Additionally, high CTS, PAS, and STAXI males attributed greater negative intent to partner behavior in both provocative and nonprovocative scenes than did low CTS, PAS, and STAXI males (p < .05). There were no interaction effects for attributions of negative intent and responsibility based on dispositional measures and scene provocativeness. In Study 2, undergraduate males (N = 107) were screened for abusive relationship behaviors with the CTS. Screening identified 37 males as High-Abusives (n=18) and Low-Abusives (n = 19). Participants selected in the screening phase were called back and fitted with a blood-pressure cuff which recorded blood pressure and heart rate before and after each of four scenes (2 provocative and 2 nonprovocative). Following presentation of the scenes, participants completed negative intent and responsibility attribution questionnaires. Results indicated that both High- and Low-Abusives evidenced significantly greater systolic blood pressure arousal during provocative as compared to nonprovocative scenes (p<.05). Similar to Study 1, results showed that High-Abusives attributed greater negative intent and responsibility to partner behavior than did Low-Abusives (p <.05). However, blood-pressure and heart rate reactivity of High- and Low-Abusives were not significantly discrepant. The results of Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that High-Abusives attributed greater negative intent and responsibility to partner behavior than did Low-Abusives. Study 2 also showed that provocative partner behavior produced greater increases in systolic blood pressure than nonprovocative partner behavior for both High- and Low-Abusives. Overall, these studies provided partial empirical support for the relationship between negative attributions and anger arousal to provocative partner behavior among abusive and nonabusive males. Limitations and future research directions will be discussed.
The Auditory Affective Verbal Learning test: peripheral arousal correlates and implications for the lateralized priming of dichotic prosody identification
Snyder, Katharine A. (Virginia Tech, 1996)
Few tests are available for the investigation of emotional learning. The purpose of the present study was to create and provide initial data on the utility of affective list alternatives for the well known Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVL). Results suggest that all lists (positive, negative, neutral) exhibited a Similar acquisition pattern and overall primacy effect. The purpose of the present study was to assess the utility of the AAVL in the production of peripheral arousal and cerebral asymmetry correlates of emotion. Experiment 1 assessed the utility of the AAVL in the induction of physiological arousal. Sixty-three right-handed male undergraduates participated in the study. It was anticipated that affective verbal learning would lead to arousal patterns characteristic of different emotions (Izard, 1977), with significant increases in blood pressure following negative list learning and significant decreases following positive list learning. Since blood pressure increased Significantly following the learning of negatively valenced words and decreased significantly following the learning of positively valenced words, this was supported. Experiment 2 assessed the influence of the AAVL on functional cerebral asymmetry using a dichotic listening paradigm. Sixty-three right-handed male undergraduates took part in the experiment. It was anticipated that the negative list would prime right cerebral systems, resulting in heightened left ear identification of sad or angry tones of voice. The positive list was predicted to prime left cerebral systems, resulting in subsequently heightened identification of happy or neutral tones of voice at the right ear. This hypothesis was not supported. The identification of tone of voice was significantly better with left ear (right hemisphere) presentations than with right ear presentations for the identification of sad and angry valences. In partial replication of Bryden and MacRae (1989), the identification of dichotically presented tones of voice also improved with practice across the two blocks of trials for the identification of angry tones of voice. The AAVL provides an objective measure of emotional learning. Given the abundance of research on lateral asymmetries in emotional and verbal processing, the AAVL may provide an objective means for evaluating individual differences in affective verbal learning and potentially provide a tool for assessment of cerebral dysfunction in the clinic or in the assessment of affective disorders.
Auditory-Visual System Interactions: Perinatal Visual Experience Affects Auditory Learning and Memory in Bobwhite Quail Chicks (Colinus virginianus)
Columbus, Rebecca Foushee (Virginia Tech, 1998-10-19)
Early perceptual learning capacity has been shown to correspond with the relative status of emergent sensory systems throughout prenatal and postnatal development. It has also been shown that young infants can learn perceptual information during perinatal development. However, the exact nature of the relationship between prenatal and postnatal perceptual development and the role of early experience on learning ability have yet to be examined. The present study examined how auditory learning capacity in bobwhite quail chicks is affected by the interrelationship between the developing auditory and visual systems in late prenatal/early postnatal development. Chicks were provided with auditory information during the period immediately prior to or the period following hatching. In addition, visual experience was either provided or attenuated during both the prenatal and postnatal periods. Findings revealed that chicks postnatally exposed to 10 min/hr of maternal auditory stimulation in lighted conditions required 72 hr exposure to the call in order to learn that bobwhite maternal call (Experiments 1A and 1B). Control chicks who experienced the prenatal egg-opening procedure demonstrated no naive preference for two individual variants of the bobwhite maternal assembly call (Experiment 2). However, embryos who received 10 min/hr of prenatal visual stimulation, or who were reared in prenatal darkness successfully learned a maternal call with only 24 hr of postnatal exposure (Experiments 3A and 3C). Embryos who received prenatal visual and postnatal darkened rearing conditions (a mismatch between prenatal and postnatal experience) showed deficits in postnatal auditory learning (Experiment 3B). Embryos who were exposed to 10 min/hr of prenatal maternal auditory stimulation and 10 min/hr of nonconcurrent visual stimulation remembered the maternal call into later ages of postnatal development than in previous studies when reared in lighted or darkened postnatal conditions (Experiments 4A and 4B). However, when all prenatal and postnatal visual experience were both removed from embryos' and chicks' environments, deficits in prenatal auditory learning and postnatal memory were observed (Experiment 4C). These results indicate that prenatal and postnatal learning in bobwhite quail occur differently, that mismatches in prenatal and postnatal experience interfere with postnatal auditory learning, and that prenatal learning and postnatal memory are affected by the amount of visual stimulation present within chicks' environmental milieu. In the broader scheme, these results provide further evidence that the auditory and visual systems are linked during early development and support an ecological perspective of learning and memory.
Automatic Processing of Musical and Phonemic Sounds: Differences Between Musicians and Nonmusicians
Alfaro, Jennifer Nicole (Virginia Tech, 2002-04-11)
The purpose of the present study was to examine the ability of musicians to preattentively process musical and phonemic information, as assessed by event-related potentials (ERPs), compared with nonmusicians. Participants were musicians (N=22; at least 10 years of formal training) and nonmusicians (N=22; no musical training) from the Virginia Tech community. Participants focused on a video and were instructed to ignore auditory stimuli. Simultaneous to the video presentation, auditory stimuli (60dB) in an oddball paradigm (80% standard, 20% deviant) were presented in 4 conditions (500 stimuli each): chord, phoneme, chord interval, and tone interval. EEG was recorded during each condition. The mismatch negativity (MMN) was identified by subtracting ERPs to standard auditory stimuli from ERPs to deviant auditory stimuli for each of the four qualitatively different conditions. Superior preattentive auditory processing in musicians was found most obviously during the presentation of chords, with no evidence of such superiority during phonemic processing and interval processing. As predicted, during the tone interval condition, musicians had a greater MMN peak amplitude in the central region, and had a greater MMN mean amplitude in the anterior frontal, frontal, frontocentral, and central regions. Contrary to the hypothesis, this did not emerge in the chord, phoneme, or chord interval conditions. As predicted, the MMN latency was shorter for musicians than nonmusicians in the frontocentral region during the phoneme condition. Contrary to the hypothesis, this did not emerge in the chord, chord interval, or tone interval conditions. Differential hemisphere effects were found between groups for MMN latency in the phoneme condition but not the others. Contrary to the hypotheses, no differences were found for MMN amplitude. As predicted, and consistent with Koelsch et al. (1999), musicians were more likely to exhibit an MMN than nonmusicians in the chord condition. Finally, there was the expected stronger preattentive processing in the right hemisphere MMN for the musical stimuli. Contrary to the literature, there was an unexpected stronger right hemisphere bias for phonemic stimuli.
The Autonomic Characteristics of Defensive Hostility: Reactivity and Recovery to Active and Passive Stressors
Vella, Elizabeth Jane (Virginia Tech, 2003-04-16)
Defensive hostility has been attributed as an early risk factor of coronary heart disease. The autonomic characteristics of high defensive, high hostile (HD) and low defensive, high hostile (LD) men and women were assessed with a variety of cardiovascular (CV) measures. Reactivity and recovery to an active laboratory stressor (video game, VG) and a passive laboratory stressor (hand cold pressor, CP) of 15 HD men, 16 LD men, 16 HD women, and 16 LD women were recorded. It was predicted that the CV patterning associated with the HD participants would display more sympathetic and less vagal control as well as the least pronounced recovery from the stressors in comparison to LD participants. Results revealed differential CV responses to the lab tasks by group. HD women displayed consistently high levels of low frequency power heart rate variability (HRV) during baseline and across conditions. HD men exhibited significantly pronounced heart rate reactivity and reduced high frequency power HRV to the CP task in comparison to LD men. Interestingly, LD women displayed weaker blood pressure (BP) recovery to the VG in comparison to HD women, whereas the opposite pattern was observed in BP recovery to the CP. These results suggest that defensiveness and sex may moderate the CV reactivity and recovery to different types of stressors in hostile participants.
Autonomic Differentiation of Emotions: A Cluster Analysis Approach
Stephens, Chad Louis (Virginia Tech, 2007-09-25)
The autonomic specificity of emotion is intrinsic for many major theories of emotion. One of the goals of this study was to validate a standardized set of music clips to be used in studies of emotion and affect. This was accomplished using self-reported affective responses to 40 music pieces, noise, and silence clips in a sample of 71 college-aged individuals. Following the music selection phase of the study; the validated music clips as well as film clips previously shown to induce a wide array of emotional responses were presented to 50 college-aged subjects while a montage of autonomic variables were measured. Evidence for autonomic discrimination of emotion was found via pattern classification analysis replicating findings from previous research. It was theorized that groups of individuals could be identified based upon individual response specificity using cluster analytic techniques. Single cluster solutions for all emotion conditions indicated that stimulus response stereotypy of emotions was more powerful than individual patterns. Results from pattern classification analysis and cluster analysis support the concept of autonomic specificity of emotion.
Behavioral Inhibition/Activation and Autonomic Control of the Heart: Extending the Autonomic Flexibility Model
Christie, Israel C. (Virginia Tech, 2005-05-09)
The autonomic flexibility model has proven to be a useful theoretical tool relating reductions in physiological variability found to accompany anxiety and concomitant reductions in behavioral (e.g., cognitive and emotional) flexibility. The present study aimed to extend the autonomic flexibility model through the inclusion of individual differences in the sensitivity of the independent motivational systems presumed to underlie anxiety and impulsivity, namely the behavioral inhibition and activation systems (BIS/BAS; Gray, 1994). Contrary to the predicted inverse relationship between BIS sensitivity and measures of physiological variability, findings suggest BAS sensitivity is associated with increased trait-like vagally mediated heart rate variability across diverse tasks as well as greater flexibility in responding within tasks. Numerous BIS*BAS interactions emerged as significant predictors of trait reactivity. Results are discussed in terms of the interface between (1) mesolimbic dopaminergic projections to the nucleus accumbens and (2) the network of central nervous system structures believed to play a large role in controlling peripheral physiology.
Behavioral, physiological, and neuropsychological correlates of hostility
Demaree, Heath Allan (Virginia Tech, 1995-04-05)
This experiment tested three hypotheses linking the right cerebral regulation of hostility and physiological arousal. First, replication of previous research supporting heightened physiological (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate) reactivity among high hostile subjects was attempted. Second, a positive association between hostility and reactivity of facial valence and intensity to stress were expected. Last, hemispheric lateralization of cerebral activity in response to stress was measured. Low- and high-hostile subjects were identified using the Cook Medley Hostility Scale (CMHS). All subjects completed the cold pressor paradigm and were videotaped before, during, and after the stressor for analysis of facial valence and intensity. Physiological measures (SBP, DBP, and HR) were recorded and dichotic listening procedures were administered before and after the stressor. The primary finding of this research was greater right cerebral activation to stress among high-hostile subjects, as indicated by their enhanced intention to the left ear. Data further supported previous findings of heightened physiological reactivity to stress among high-hostiles. However, no hostility group differences on facial expression measures were found. Data suggest a positive relationship between right cerebral activity and cardiovascular arousal.
Capacity theory: A neuropsychological perspective on shared neural systems regulating hostile violence prone behavior and the metabolic syndrome
Harrison, Patti Kelly; Walters, Robert P.; DeVore, Benjamin B.; Harrison, David W. (2016-01-13)
Cardiovascular Activity During Laboratory Tasks in Individuals with High and Low Worry
Knepp, Michael Matthew (Virginia Tech, 2007-05-09)
Anxiety and worry have been related to exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity and delayed recovery to laboratory stressors, and to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This study examined cardiovascular responses in high and low worriers to a range of laboratory tasks. The aim of this study was to determine if there is a task-specific relationship between worry and aberrant cardiovascular responding. Forty-one undergraduate women were recruited online to form low and high worry groups by use of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Four common laboratory tasks and two conditions designed to elicit worry and relaxation were used: hand cold pressor, mental arithmetic, orthostatic position, supine position, worry imagery, and relaxation imagery. Heart rate, heart rate variability, impedance cardiography, and blood pressure indices were collected to assess task reactivity and recovery, particularly in relation to autonomic nervous system activity. The high worry group had significantly higher heart rates throughout the study. The low worry group presented increased cardiovascular recovery to various tasks. The high worry group during task and post-task periods also increased parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic activation. The results of the study suggest that high worriers have decreased vagal control of the heart. The implications of this study suggest a potential link between the post-task period in high worriers and cardiovascular disease. Further research is recommended.
Cardiovascular reactivity in men as a function of masculine gender role stress, Type-A behavior, and hostility
Skidmore, Jay Robert (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1987)
Previous research on the construct and measurement of Masculine Gender Role Stress (MGRS) validates the assumption of sex differences in the appraisal of stressful situations. The present study was designed to extend the validity of the construct, MGRS, by examining its association with a set of physiological responses known as cardiovascular reactivity. Generally, such reactivity is measured in terms of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR). Cardiovascular hyper-reactivity has been implicated as the major pathogenic mechanism through which psychological variables such as Type-A behavior and hostility may increase one's risk of coronary heart disease. A major underlying assumption of the dissertation is that the same gender-role socialization which leads to MGRS may also underlie development of Type-A behavior and hostility, and most importantly, cardiovascular hyper-reactivity. Forty-eight male undergraduate students volunteered to complete questionnaires measuring MGRS, Type-A behavior, and hostility, and participated in a one-hour laboratory session in which cardiovascular reactivity was assessed. Measures of SBP, DBP, and HR were obtained during consecutive phases of the assessment: (1) relaxation baseline, (2) the first stressor, (3) relaxation baseline, (4) the second stressor. All subjects were exposed to both stressors, a Cold Pressor Task (CPT) and a structured Masculine Threat Interview (MTI) in counter-balanced order. Subjects were divided into equal groups representing lower, middle, and upper thirds of MGRS. Results indicated that MGRS scores were significantly related to cardiovascular reactivity, specifically the SBP response. Thus, higher levels of MGRS were associated with proportionate increases in SBP reactivity. Within-subjects comparisons demonstrated no difference between stressors, the CPT versus the MTI, for SBP reactivity. Regression analyses indicated that MGRS scores were a better predictor of SBP reactivity than either Type-A behavior or hostility. Together, all three psychological variables accounted for 20% of the variance of systolic reactivity; however MGRS alone accounted for 17% of that variance. These findings add considerable support to the theoretical assumption that gender role socialization plays an important role in men's appraisal of psychological stress, and that such stress has measurable (harmful) effects on cardiovascular physiology.
Cardiovascular Reactivity to and Recovery from Laboratory Tasks in Low and High Worry Women
Knepp, Michael Matthew (Virginia Tech, 2010-03-23)
Anxiety and its cognitive component of worry have been related to exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity and delayed recovery to laboratory stressors, and to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous research on the anxiety-cardiovascular system relationship, including data from Knepp and Friedman (2008), are included to support this project. Two experiments were completed during the course of this study. The first consisted of two peripheral-based body positioning tasks. The second experiment used an active versus passive sympathetic stress task paradigm (mental arithmetic, hand cold pressor). Subjects were nonsmokers free of cardiovascular and neurological disease. Trait worry was examined through the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Blood pressure recordings and cardiac recordings through ECG and ICG were done in each experiment during seven epochs: an anticipatory baseline with three baselines preceding and three recovery periods following each task. Repeated measures analysis was run on all cardiovascular measures. In the first experiment, high worriers had worsened blood pressure reactivity to task. The second experiment found that high worriers had increased stroke volume across all epochs. There were mixed findings in the studies relating to subjects acclimated to the laboratory experience. Future directions of research relating anxiety, worry, and cardiovascular risk factors are discussed.
Cardiovascular Reactivity to Speech Processing and Cold Pressor Stress: Evidence for Sex Differences in Dynamic Functional Cerebral Laterality
Higgins, Dane A. (Virginia Tech, 1999-05-12)
This experiment investigated sex differences in dynamic functional cerebral laterality effects on cardiovascular reactivity and dichotic listening in response to a stressor (a cold pressor). 120 right-handed undergraduate men (N = 60) and women (N = 60) underwent physiological measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) before and after exposure to the cold pressor and a phonemic dichotic listening task. Functional cerebral laterality was assessed through the administration of the phonemic dichotic listening task. Group differences in dynamic functional cerebral laterality were predicted. Findings indicated a sex by focus interaction effect where men's, but not women's, systolic blood pressure increased significantly when focusing on sounds presented at the left ear during the dichotic listening task. Also, a compartmentalized, dynamic response in dichotic listening test performance was evidenced in both men and women (as both experienced increased accuracy at the right, but not left, ear), brought about as a function of the cold pressor. Men and women both evidenced increased cardiovascular reactivity, with men experiencing significantly more cardiovascular reactivity (SBP) than women in response to cold pressor pain. Women were also able to identify significantly more speech sounds presented to the left ear than men, and they were able to dynamically increase accuracy at the targeted ear identified within each focus group (left or right). Speech sounds processing (dichotic listening task) significantly decreased men's, but not women's, systolic blood pressure. These results contribute to the literature on sex differences in functional cerebral laterality.

Browsing by Author "Harrison, David W."

Results Per Page

Sort Options